Data measurement and the change in persistence of tourist arrivals to the United States in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks

This research note examines the change in data measurement for international tourist arrivals to the United States due to the requirement that all tourists must complete the INS I-94 entry form and its impact on tourist arrivals in the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks. Using fractional integration techniques, we find that the majority of tourist arrivals from various regions around the world are mean reverting, but the degree of persistence increased in the post-September 2001 period.